The present invention relates to an access control card, particularly for access to an automotive vehicle.
It is known in the automotive field to replace a conventional key coacting with a mechanical lock, with a card containing an electronic device. To gain access to a vehicle, the card emits a signal toward a receiver located in the passenger compartment of the vehicle. If the receiver recognizes the card, access to the vehicle is authorized. The information received by the receiver is for example supplied to a device permitting controlling opening and closing of the car doors. The card can also serve as a contact key and a reader is located in this case also in the passenger compartment.
It is interesting for the user to receive information following introduction of his card into the reader, to know for example whether the doors are open or closed. It is thus known to provide the reader or even the card, with luminous indicators, of the luminous diode type known as LEDs, or the like.
The drawback of these devices is their size. Thus, it is for example known to integrate indicators on the edge of a card, but this leads to a relatively thick card. Similarly, if the indicators are integrated into the reader, the latter must have on its front surface, in addition to the opening designed to receive the card, the indication and/or control indicators.
The present invention thus has for its object to provide a compact system. As follows from the above, it is preferable, to gain space at the reader, to read the information from the card. The present invention thus has for its object to provide a card of reduced size which however permits supplying luminous information, as well as a reader associated with this card.
To this end, it provides an electronic access control card, particularly for automotive vehicles, adapted to coact with a reader or the like, this reader comprising a recess to receive the card, leaving however an edge projecting outside the recess.
According to the invention, the card has at least one luminous wave guide integrated into its thickness, opening on the edge of the card adapted to remain outside the reader or the like, and permitting sending a luminous wave when the card is introduced into the reader, from the reader toward this edge of the card and/or vice versa.
The presence of a luminous wave guide in the card thus permits having a luminous source in the reader (or the like), at a place where there is no size problem, and to direct the light emitted by the source to the external edge of the card, which is visible when the latter is engaged in the reader. Known wave guides can have a very small thickness and be easily integrated into the card without substantially increasing the size of the latter. Luminous wave guides permit avoiding an exchange of information between the card and the reader, which controls a light source disposed on the card.
It is also foreseeable to cause a light beam to pass from outside the reader (or the like) and the card, to within the reader. Instead of thus providing a light source in the reader, a detector can be provided there.
In a preferred embodiment permitting having a relatively short optical path through the wave guide, and hence good transmission of the light rays, the luminous wave guides, at least one in number, have an elbowed shape so as to permit guiding the waves from a surface of the card toward an edge of the latter. It is also foreseeable to have a wave guide passing through the card from side to side but this requires having a fairly long wave guide, which risks attenuating the carried light signal.
An access control card according to the invention can also integrate a light source. This latter gives for example information as to the card itself (condition of charge of a battery, etc.). In this case, the light source is preferably disposed such that the light which it emits is guided by a wave guide. A user thus does not distinguish between information from the card and information from the reader.
An embodiment of the access control card comprises a parallelepipedal envelope of small thickness having two large surfaces and four edges, with at least one opening provided in an edge of the card, a corresponding opening provided in a large surface of the card and these two corresponding openings being connected by a luminous wave guide.
The present invention also relates to an identification device comprising a recess adapted to receive an electronic control card through an opening, one edge of the card extending outside this opening, and being adapted to coact with an access control card as described above.
Such an identification device comprises for example at least one light source adapted to face the card when the latter has been introduced into the device. In this case, the light source is located for example below the card when the latter is introduced into the device, adjacent the opening adapted to receive the card.
Such an identification device can also comprise a photo cell adapted to face the card when the latter has been introduced into the device. This cell thus permits detecting the light entering into the reader via a wave guide of the card.